


EXEC_ATTRACT

by Bondmaiden



Series: Distant Worlds AU - Ar Tonelico [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ar Tonelico, Gunslinger Aomine, M/M, Reyvateil Kuroko, Reyvateils Sing to Fight, Scythe Dancer Akashi, Songstress Kuroko, Sword Master Kise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2305223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bondmaiden/pseuds/Bondmaiden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kise's whole life gets turned upside down when their ragtag mercenary squad consisting of Akashi and Aomine gets approached by a strangely tattooed boy running away from some assailants from who knows where. And, of course, that boy has to come with a manual book more complicated than Kise's heated eyelash curler, especially when he's from a species of another whole new world.</p><blockquote>
  <p><br/><b>”Are you sure you don’t mind doing it here? Other Reyvateils would usually request for a more memorable location than an inn’s bedroom.”</b><br/><b>“… I don’t mind. Please, go ahead and insert it.”</b><br/><b>”Please tell me if it hurts, Kuroko. I’ll pull out right away.”</b><br/>Kise’s mind flips out, and he staggers backwards a little at the thought. <i>Oh boy, Akashicchi, do you have a kink for Reyvateils or something? Is that why you never got any action for the past six months? Normal people just don’t do it for you anymore?</i><br/></p>
</blockquote>
            </blockquote>





	EXEC_ATTRACT

**Author's Note:**

> this is for [manaorin](www.manaorin.tumblr.com) because i think she's the only one who likes this songficcy eeeeyyy thanks soulmate! any mistakes you see is 100% my fault /rolls in disgrace

“When traveling, I go by Kuroko Tetsuya.”

Then he abruptly turns around, untucking the hems of his shirt and revealing the patch of skin near the plump swell of his bottom, marred by what they think is a chaotic mess of an ethnic tattoo; periwinkle blue against milky beige. 

“But when I need to input my ID into the city scanners, I am TETSUYA_FEHU_KUROKO_SEIRIN.”

Ignoring their confused stares—safe for the redhead’s suddenly bright eyes, the teen faces them once more.

“But back at the laboratory, I’m their hunted Tetsuya_yx.ZONE_CATEGORY.Teiko. That’s why I need you three to take me in.”

Kise’s jaw unhinged, then clicks close with a sharp snap. He’s not the only one who joined the unanimous silence. Even Aomine’s resting his chin against the butt of his shotgun, wearing the deepest frown anyone’s ever seen—save for that time when he argued with the innkeeper since his change was 20 Leaf short. The only one who’s calmly observing Kuroko with a face that says he gets their whole train of conversation is Akashi, who rests his primary scythe against the doorframe with an expectant look.

Unsure about the direction of their topic (and why Akashi’s suddenly silent), Kise scratches his cheek. “Uh, just so you know, Kuroko-kun—we’re mercenaries, not babysitters. And I can’t make the big decisions for you, that’s for Akashicchi to decide since he’s our leader,” he cocks his chin at the redhead’s general direction. “Even if I agree, I can’t say the same for them.”

The blue-haired teen tilts his head to the side. Bored of their conversation, is he? 

“Yes, I know. That’s why I approached your group. I heard the word around town is that you three have superior combat capabilities.” Then he pauses, and subtly glances at the faces around the room. “I will need you three to hold off my pursuers as we travel to where Rakuzan is. But please don’t worry, I’ll lend my abilities in combat and when we reach our destination, I’ll make sure everyone will be compensated well.”

Jarring silence floods the room. Nobody makes a move to counter his grand statement, not even Aomine. Kise thinks he’s still trying to put two and two together, and doesn’t exactly blame Aomine for lagging behind because none of this makes sense for Kise either. He looks Akashi’s way, hoping that the man would take the lead. Normally, Akashi would be smiling and politely turning down sudden requests that come their way; sometimes it doesn’t fit in with their schedule, or it’s during their off days, or the risk is too high and death could occur. Today, however, Akashi stands in his corner, arms folded.

He doesn’t utter a word.

Neither does Kuroko.

Joining Aomine as the frowning duo, Kise restlessly fidgets in his chair. “As long as you’re paying me, I’m good, not even complaining.” He eyes Akashi, who doesn’t reprimand him for agreeing on his own, and checks that off as a completely bizarre event that shouldn’t happen even in a millennia. “Uh. Can I ask why you have three names, and what’s that freaky tattoo doing there, and why do you have to go to Rakuzan?” Kise counts it off his fingers, brows raised. “Because as far as I know, Rakuzan—“

“—has already shut down its facilities for Reyvateils like you,” Akashi continues, exhaling softly through his nose. “I would know, because I was the former director.”

The sudden panic flashing through Kuroko’s eyes is unmistakable.

* * *

> **Reyvateils:** _A race of genetically engineered people who have the ability to transform sounds into energy, enabling them to sing to fight. As artificial life forms created with advanced sound technology dating back from the First Era, they are capable of functioning the same way humans do. Reyvateils are composed of organic matter similar to the proteins of the human body, but unless trained in the art of physical combat, they are very weak, needing partners to protect them. These Reyvateils can fall into two primary classifications: Purebloods and Halfbloods, with more subclasses underneath each category._  
> 

* * *

Kise’s done some reading on the stuff Akashi said. 

Old bookstores aren’t his thing but there were plenty of them up Promenade Walk, so stopping by one of them isn’t a big deal. Kanagawa’s a bit isolated from the rest of the other places, just nestled right between a couple of steep, icy mountains that would take some serious climbing to access, and it’s one of the few places Kise’s fond of. He’s had good memories of Kanagawa, from the little ice cream parlour down the corner overlooking the waterfalls, to the small playground with some rusted swings creaking in the air. You’d get all these children running about in the evening when their parents take them on walks. That’s the appeal of Kanagawa: old, nostalgic, homely. 

Not a home to Reyvateils though, as far as he’s concerned. Or at least he hasn’t seen anyone else with a funky tattoo like Kuroko.

“We don’t get Reyvateils around here much,” answered the bookkeeper, Kasamatsu, was it? His thick brows furrow when he rolls the strangely familiar words on his tongue, hands making quick work of rearranging some of the stacks Kise fished out. It’s like he’s used to doing this, long before Kise even made his appearance. “They’re really weak, so without a partner, they can’t travel around much to get to other places. Most of them are happy to stay where they’re born, finding love there, getting married,” he shrugs, “stuffs like that. ‘sides, Kanagawa’s in the middle of nowhere, so unless you’re a fan of icy mountains, I don’t see why you’d hike all the way up here.”

That’s what Kise doesn’t understand, so he sticks around Kasamatsu a little bit longer.

“But why are Reyvateils weak? They use Song Magic, right? Aren’t magical stuffs usually fast and strong?”

At this, Kasamatsu huffs and dusts his hands on his gingham apron, giving Kise a weary eyeful. “You’ve never met a Reyvateil before, kid?” He takes Kise’s nod with a thoughtful look, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Usually, Reyvateils need to properly channel their emotions to their respective Tower’s Song Server before singing songs to fight. You can’t exactly run and sing at the same time, that’d be exhausting. Only a few trained Reyvateils can do that, but it’s pretty rare. Most of the Reyvateils usually need partners to protect them in combat; while the Reyvateils concentrates on singing, their partner defends them from attacks.”

 _Okay_ , Kise thinks, _that’s not so bad at all. Kind of like having a damsel in distress in the middle of the battlefield. We’re used to that—Aomine’s a bit of a DiD sometimes when he’s out of bullets._

Kasamatsu’s explanation makes better sense than the book Kise’s holding in his hands, something about connecting to SH Servers and H-wave Purity, so he deposits it on the countertop and watches as Kasamatsu picks it up to keep it away. Still, nothing explains why Kuroko needs them to go to Rakuzan, why Akashi never told them that he was some big shot back in Rakuzan itself, and how exactly they’re going to work things out from here. If Aomine’s feeling gracious today, he’d take up on the quest with Kise too—that is, unless Akashi tells him not to interfere, then the Gun Master can’t exactly break the rules. 

“Some of the songs the Reyvateils sing are destructive in nature, while others can heal. It depends on what sort of Song Magic you unlocked when you Dive into your Reyvateil.”

Kise whips his head around when Kasamatsu shuffles a few meters away after saying that, reaching up to fetch a slim edition of what seems to be a book written in a rounded alien language. He opens his mouth to say something, backtracks a bit on what the other man said, and realises that it doesn’t make any sense at all even when he’s executing all his mental faculties on it. Dive? Unlock? Diving into a Reyvateil and unlocking a Song Magic? Kise thinks he’d sooner break than make anything in Kuroko.

When he receives no reply, Kasamatsu obviously made the right choice in assuming Kise’s knowledge on Reyvateils is 0%. He hides an exasperated sigh, opting to settle down onto a stool to make himself comfortable, and flicks through the yellowing pages of the text in his hands.

“Listen: A Dive is basically when you go to a Dive Shop with your Reyvateil and you use one of the Dive Machines there to access your Reyvateil’s Cosmosphere.” At Kise’s growing silence, Kasamatsu rolls his eyes. “It’s basically you’re hooking yourself up to a machine so that you can enter a Reyvateil’s brain. This is so that you, as the Diver, can go into the world created with all the feelings and emotions of your Reyvateil, then you can deepen your understanding or bond or whatever you want to do, and the result from Diving is that you’d get all the powerful Song Magics.”

“So… I can just pair up with whatever Reyvateil I see, bring them to Dive Centers, Dive into them, and make stronger songs?”

Kise’s never seen someone colour so fast before—Kasamatsu’s face shot up from ivory to tomato in seconds. He barely even dodges from the book Kasamatsu chucked his way and it lands with a threatening smack on the hardwood floor.

“You don’t just approach whatever Reyvateil you see, you idiot!” the shopkeeper fumes, gritting his teeth. It’s cute how even the tips of his ears are hot red, but Kise’s not sure to interpret that as a cross between embarrassment or anger. Kasamatsu’s voice immediately dropped a few notches, and Kise strains his hearing to pick up the hushed growling. “Listen to me, Dives are a very intimate and personal experience. Your Reyvateil has to show you, the trusted Diver, their truest feelings, memories, secrets. You can even find other personalities of your Reyvateil in there, the ones that they don’t show to anyone outside. Don’t take advantage of your Reyvateil’s courage and trust, damn it. As the Diver, you’ve got to respect your Reyvateil and you have to agree not to reveal anything about what you saw in there—not even your friends, not even the Reyvateil in question.”

Kise gets the feeling that he doesn’t want to ask stupid questions, but his mouth fell open before he even realized it. “Why not?”

“Why not?” Kasamatsu scoffs, scowling. “Imagine if you’re a Reyvateil and you had memories of something embarrassing, say,” he scratches his cheek, “like you peed your pants in the middle of the stage during a school play or something. And then you’re letting someone else access those memories and replay it in your mind. Then that person goes out and tells the world that you peed your pants when you were a kid. Would you like that?”

 _Ouch._ Kise cringes. “Okay, I definitely get that.”

“It’s a good thing you do, because that’ll make you a respected Diver to your Reyvateil.” Kasamatsu agrees with a shrug of his shoulders. “You’ve got to treat your Reyvateil with utmost respect. That feeling should be mutual between the two of you, because this isn’t an ordinary relationship you’re getting into.”

By the time they’ve finished their chats with one another, sunset has already fallen in thin rays between the chintzy blinds covering the windows of Captain Kas Bookstore. Kise walks away empty handed since he didn’t waste any Leaf buying books with jargons more complicated than his heated eyelash curler’s manual, and Kasamatsu told him to come back again if he’s got more questions about these complex, almost supernatural beings called Reyvateils. Shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his leather jacket, he fingers some of the coins rattling in there, and looks skyward.

Gentle blues consumed by burning reds stain the clouds. It’s disconcerting, burning right into his retinas.

Kise hopes it’s not a premonition of what’s to come, and immediately sets off to their shared inn.

* * *

>   
> **Dive:** _The term used in referring to the act of entering a Reyvateil’s Soulspace, also known as the Cosmosphere. Through the usage of a special pod called the Dive Machine, which scans through the Reyvateil’s Static H-Wave bands and her partner (the Diver), enabling the Diver to explore the world created by the feelings and memories of the Reyvateil._  
> 

* * *

“—so it’s like sex.”

Affronted, Kise gasps. “Dives aren’t like sex—“

“—they’re intimate and personal stuffs you don’t talk about, even Satsuki said Dives are like sex to humans. You don’t exactly talk to others about your sex life, right?” Aomine shrugs, wrinkling his nose. He’s flopped on the bed like a lifeless starfish and started scratching his belly out of habit. “When I heard that Kuroko kid mention his Hymn Code, I got where he came from. Definitely not anywhere near us—kid did a good job running away from his pursuers.”

Now Kise’s the one who’s lost. Isn’t Aomine supposed to be the dumb duo with him? “What’s a… Hymn Code? Go easy on me, Aominecchi, this is my first time dealing with a Reyvateil like him!”

“A Reyvateil like him is definitely not common, it’s the first I’ve ever seen one with my own eyes,” the tanned man grouses, rubbing his chin. Suddenly he jolts up from the bed, throws his legs over the side, and begins staring at Kise a bit more intensely than usual. Really, Kise gulps at the odd light in Aomine’s eyes. “Remember when I said I came from the big city of Neo Tokyo? We’ve got loads of Reyvateils there.” For emphasis, Aomine makes an exaggerated circle in the air with his hands. “Childhood friend Satsuki runs a Dive Shop. She’s the one overlooking the Diving process with this other chick called Aida Riko in case shit happens. Reyvateils are pretty much a huge deal there, and they rake in huge cash every day.”

“Yeah, but you still didn’t answer me, you know?”

Aomine shoots him a dirty look. “Hold on, I’m coming to that, sheesh… anyway, Kuroko Tetsuya is just a name, like how you’re Kise Ryota and I’m Aomine Daiki. But Reyvateils have these unique names that they use for identification when they’re singing through the Tower. Satsuki said they’re like your ID number, or something like that. The Tower reads your ID and gives you access to your song. So Tetsuya’s his name, Fehu tells us who he’s a descendent of, dunno who’s Kuroko but probably the predecessor, and the last name identifies from which Tower he’s getting his powers from.”

“So… Seirin is where he came from?” Kise tries.

He’s met with a noncommittal grunt from Aomine, who waves him off. “Yeah, probably. Except that this whole world’s Tower for Reyvateils is called Touou, so I seriously don’t get why he’s getting his powers from some other Tower called Seirin. Another friend of mine, Sakurai—his Hymn Code is RYO_FEHU_IMAYOSHI_TOUOU; see what I mean? Maybe Kuroko came from another world.”

Kise chuckles throatily at that. “Oh come on, that’s taking it too far, Aominecchi.” He’s a bit too old to believe in hocus-pocus jokes like this. “We only have one world, and it’s this world, right?”

When Aomine meets him dead in the eyes without a single smile on his face, that’s when Kise swallows his laugh and knows his entire world—or worlds—went wrong.

* * *

>   
> **Tower:** _There are three worlds in the system: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Akita. Reyvateils born in Tokyo are subjected to Tokyo’s governance and utilise the first Tower for their Song Magic: Touou. Kyoto has Rakuzan as its primary tower, though little is known about the second world. Similarly, the third world hasn’t been explored yet. All Reyvateils are connected to their respective Tower, and when they sing a song, the Tower converts their emotions into magic._
> 
> **Song Magic:** _Reyvateils fight using Song Magics crafted from their emotions during Dives. The deeper the Diver dives into a Reyvateil, the stronger the Song Magic will be._
> 
> **Dive Shops:** _Shops which are approved by the government to have Dive Machines for Dives to take place. Shopkeepers will watch over the Diving process, monitoring the H-waves through computer screens, and they can forcefully eject the Diver and the Reyvateil for safety if the H-wave contamination grows deeper._
> 
> **Hymn Code:** _When Reyvateils sing, they utilise a unique language called Hymnos. Hymn Code is a Reyvateil’s identifier used by Reyvateils to access their Song Magic Server._  
> 

* * *

So Kise blames it on the fact that he grew up in the countryside, somewhere off track, hidden behind tall trees and thorny forest undergrowth. Coming from a clan of traditional swordsmen, it’s no surprise he’s a deer caught in headlights when he first ventured out of the village six months ago. The system differed greatly from what he’s used to; roads paved to glorious cities of lights instead of the usual oil lamps, flying ship-buses taking him from one state to another instead of horses doing the trick, and little contraptions offering him beauty on the go—he’s sworn his entire life on his heated eyelash curler, and nothing will separate him from it.

How he came across Akashi and Aomine, the disastrous duet of guns and scythes, is another thing.

_”You don’t look like you belong here, selling hair extensions.”_

Ah yes, the good old days.

_”That’s your sword, right? Pick it up and come with us, you’ll make better money this way.”_

Kise doesn’t regret leaving his village behind, not when his sisters were planning to do the same after his departure. Sure, working as a traveling mercenary does have its perks: Widespread fame of badassery, more Leaf to be spent on his growing beauty supplies, and building extensive rapport from city to city, but the downfalls were definitely there too: Unusual working hours, insect bites and sunburns from excessive traveling, cold hard ground for beds whenever they’re not close to an inn, catastrophically traumatising near-death experiences when the enemy’s too strong—well. 

Life’s not perfect, but Kise’s definitely trying to make it so.

After Aomine shooed him out of his room, grunting about wanting to sleep it over, Kise finds himself standing in the hallway. The draft curls around his ankles, sending midnight chills prickling his spine, and he rubs his forearms trying to build some warmth. He could always head to bed just like anyone sane since it’s way past his beauty sleep hour. But his head, on the other hand, yaks at him internally. 

_Just think about all the money you’ll make if you take on that Kuroko’s quest,_ it said. _Sign up for his partnership, take him to wherever the hell Rakuzan is, and dump him there like what he wants. You’re a mercenary anyway, it’s just another job._

Well, of course, his conscience had another different point of view to be offered. _He’s a Reyvateil, and you don’t even know what that is. Aominecchi doesn’t look like he’s keen on it probably because he knows more about this species than you do. Isn’t it wise to stay out of trouble? Even Akashicchi said Rakuzan’s gone, and he was the former director. You know Akashi doesn’t lie about things like this, right?_

After a minute of debating monologues and weighing out the pros and cons, Kise finally comes to a conclusion.

So the consensus is that he’d consult Akashi first—it’s only fair because the redhead’s the leader of their ragtag squad, that and Akashi would probably divulge more to him if he asks. If the pros outweighed the cons, Kise knows he’d take the risk of leaving their group first to get Kuroko to where he wants to go. If, by chance, Akashi stops him—

— _well, let’s not think about that for now._

Kise sets off towards the other end of the hallway, easily locating a half-hidden door in the clammy darkness clinging to his every movement. He raises a fist to make three quick raps and goes over the established protocol mentally: State his name, business, and wait for further approval on whether he has the right to enter Akashi’s room or not. But before he could collide his first with the solid wooden panelling, his sharp hearing picks up a husky voice coming from the other side of the door.

_”Are you sure you don’t mind doing it here? Other Reyvateils would usually request for a more memorable location than an inn’s bedroom.”_

The blond blinks.

_“… I don’t mind. Please, go ahead and insert it.”_

Okay, so Kise prides himself as someone who wouldn’t even think of prying into his colleagues’ business because, hey, late night romps are good enough to vent the sexual frustration down the drain, and he’s never reprimanded any of them for their escapades before. Or at least Aomine, because Kise’s never seen Akashi out with a woman or a man before. They’re all just hormonal people, perfectly normal regardless of sexuality and odd preferences (Aomine likes his women with huge breasts, Kise likes his girls with sweet lips), but.

 _But doing it with a Reyvateil you’ve just met!?_ Kise’s mind flips out, and he staggers backwards a little at the thought. _Oh boy, Akashicchi, do you have a kink for Reyvateils or something? Is that why you never got any action for the past six months? Normal people just don’t do it for you anymore?_

He knows he should hightail it back to his room and not become the third lightbulb in the corridor like some depraved voyeur of sorts, but.

_”Please tell me if it hurts, Kuroko. I’ll pull out right away.”_

Kise colours a little at that implication-ladened statement. 

Oh boy. 

He gets on his knees faster than Kasamatsu turning beet red and scrambles for the nearest keyhole. If Akashi ever catches him peeping, he’ll have a grave without a marker, but he’s just doing this to make sure that his soon-to-be-future-partner-Reyvateil-and-definitely-not-love-interest doesn’t get damaged from this act. Yeah. Kise doesn’t know much about man-on-man action save for everything goes up where things go down, but at the first signs of Kuroko hurting, he knows he won’t hesitate to bust down that door and probably leap into combat with Akashi like some knight in shining armour. 

Or so he tells himself. 

In the blurry distance, perched together on the bed, is Akashi and Kuroko’s figures melded into one. With Akashi’s broad, pale back turned to Kise, the blond couldn’t see anything past him. Shapely legs are wrapped around Akashi’s hips, in which Kise hazards a guess that they belong to Kuroko, and he’s definitely riding Akashi’s lap. Only the blue blob of his head is visible over the redhead’s shoulder, and he appears to be resting his forehead against Akashi’s neck like he’s nursing a massive ache in his head.

 _Or in his ass,_ Kise’s mind unhelpfully supplies. _But does Kuroko have pink nipples? Or light brown ones? Most guys have brown nipples, right?_

His train of thoughts is gratefully interrupted by a breathy whine from Kuroko’s lips.

_“This position will ease the strain on your back, but if you keep tightening up like this instead of relaxing, you know it will hurt more.”_

Kise even has the shame to avert his eyes when he hears that.

_“It’s fine—“_

Kuroko’s obviously gritting that out between clenched teeth and Kise almost felt sorry for the teen when he’s obviously not enjoying this act.

_“—just please, go slower on me, Akashi-san.”_

_Yeah Akashicchi, go slower on the poor boy!_ Kise frowns deeply, squinting to get a better look to see if that jerk Akashi would dare to rip Kuroko into two. _Man, should I go and ask Aominecchi if he has lube? And maybe I can knock and leave the thing in front of the door?_ Then he makes a face. _I could do so much better than this, Akashicchi, shame on you, even though I’m not gay._

The hardwood floor is starting to hurt his knees now, but he’s not about to leave when his duty is sitting right here, making sure that his soon-to-be-future-partner-Reyvateil-and-definitely-not-love-interest’s ass isn’t about to be plundered by a prick. What if Kuroko can’t walk tomorrow? Should Kise get him a wheelchair? It’s a worthwhile investment since Kuroko will pay him back when they get to Rakuzan, right?

_“Bear with it, Kuroko, the pain won’t last long. Stay with me.”_

Kise can’t see it, but the slight movements of Akashi’s hands indicate that he’s either caressing down Kuroko’s back, or he’s reaching in between them to jerk Kuroko off. Well, either way, his words (or caring actions) seemed to have an impact on Kuroko, who shifts slightly on his lap and digs his heels in Akashi’s back. They’re stalling now, Kise thinks Akashi’s probably waiting for Kuroko to adjust to his size, and practically glued his eyeball to the keyhole in anticipation when—

“… Kise, what the fuck are you doing?”

**Author's Note:**

> 100% no regrets. the story won't make sense with all these jargons now, but as the story progresses, you'd get what's going on. for now, just uh enjoy the stupidity.


End file.
